Becoming Lord Potter
by SolitaryQuill
Summary: This is a story where Harry Potter recieves a wake up call. Its common knowledge that the Potter Family is an old wealthy family, but Harry never really understood what that meant and no one explained it to him. Until now. Will contain Dumbledore bashing.
1. Disclaimers and Author Notes

Disclaimers: I do not own anything related to the Harry Potter stories by Rowling and am making no profit off this story. This disclaimer is for all chapters associated with the Story, 'Becoming Lord Potter'.

I can't believe I forgot to do that, lol!

Thanks for all the positive and constructive criticism reviews!

a/n (2/18/2011)

I've had some complaining that the days are too short. Keep in mind that for the 6 chapters I've written so far, only two days have passed.

Chapters 1 through 5 = 1 day. (Harry took a nap, so I suppose if your skimming and not reading everything, you could confuse that for an additional day?)

Chapter 6 = 1 day.

Hopefully that will clear up any confusion.

I also removed the ability for annoymous people to review, since I can't respond to you. I rather dislike fanfictions where I have to scroll through a lot of responses to reviews to get to the story. Which is why I respond one-on-one.

Another person called me lazy for Harry not going over his estate before going with Lady Longbottom. Incase no one has picked up the pattern, Harry is overwhelmed and used to people leading him by the hand when it comes to decisions. {Besides, the point is for Harry to learn a few things so he could understand atleast a little bit of his estate and responsibilities that go along with it.}

If your looking for a suddenly financially and politically smart Harry story or a suddenly powerful and confident Harry story, then you need to look elsewhere. This story will be about Harry exploring himself, learning and adapting.


	2. Chapter 1

Rebellion. Teenage rebellion. It was the result of the wide range of emotions that was swirling through the choatic mind of the now sixteen year old Harry Potter. It was somehow freeing to decide to tell the world, a world which narrowed down to a certain grey haired wizard, to go to hell.

It was an impulsive decision, which did not really enter the mind of the teenager, but it seemed like the only course of action to take as a result of his birthday presents. And it wasn't because of the typical Weasely presents, which consisted of foodstuffs and quidditch things, nor was it a reaction to the typical defensive magic book from Hermoine. Even the almost non-existent note from Lupin didn't evoke the emotions that the seemingly innocent plain envelope had caused. However, could the seal of Gringotts ever be considered innocent?

To Harry it had, afterall he was basically a muggleborn wizard who hardly knew anything about the muggle world. And yet, he knew more about the muggle world than the wizarding world. The innocence of the Gringotts seal was forever tarnished in the young wizard's mind, it having essentially pointed out that he was a pawn and being manipulated. All because he was too naive, or was that stupid, to ask questions. Questions that now seemed so blaringly obvious, that he could only wonder why his friends never wondered or asked.

The fading frown deepened once more as the single paged letter was picked up, so he could dissect it, again.

_Greetings to Harry Potter, Heir to the Noble House of Potter, from Iceshred, Account Manager of the Potters. _

_Since you have refused to show, or even respond, to our request for your presence for the reading of the will of one Sirius Black, Lord of the Noble House of Black, we've sent to you a chest in the following of Lord Black's will, to be recieved on the sixteenth birthday if it comes to pass after the death of Lord Black and the Heir of the Potters was unable to attend the reading of his will. It was also stated that no Wizard would be informed of said chest. _

Here Harry paused, once more, to glance to the small chest sitting on the foot of his bed. Upon learning that it was from his Godfather, his deceased Godfather, he had mixed feelings about opening it. But curiousity had won out, which had him glancing through it before finishing the letter. It had held the 'Maruaders Bible', which was a journal of sorts that detailed various pranks and had many potion receipes and charms listed in it. No doubt the twins would give their first borns up for said book. There was also various pictures, money for both the wizarding and muggle world, along with some clothes and accessories. Various pouches lined the chest, which Harry had yet to go through, but one of them held quite a few letters. Speaking of letters..

_I have decided to break protocol due to the alarming fact that you have not been in contact with Gringotts, except for the few times to withdraw a small amount of gold for your school supplies when you started Hogwarts. There have been numerous attempts in which to contact you and there have always been two outcomes of these attempts; either Albus Dumbledore responded or there was no response at all. This is highly unusual and suspicous, since you are Heir to an old Pureblood and Wealthy family. _

_Resports have also stated that you live, and have lived, with a Muggle family which indicates you have not been recieving any type of tutoring on your duties as Heir, and then Lord, of your family. There are many responsibilities you will have, which includes properties, employees, investments and contracts that involve Gringotts. Not to mention your political responsibilities, which is not our responsibility to train you in, that does go hand in hand with you needing to be aware of and acknowledge your bloodline. _

_Albus Dumbledore has set himself up as your Magical Guardian, which is the reason you have not been contacted before now. Lord Black allowed us the opportunity to directly contact you with his request, him being your Godfather gives him more legal standing over Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore is not 'legally' your Magical Guardian, meaning the will of your parents and of Lord Black has never designated him as such. The only reason he has been able to interfere is because of his political power._

_I have taken great satisfaction of continuously rejecting each and every request he has made inregards to your estate, except when it came to your school vault. I only state this to assure you that your privacy has not been violated and nor have you been robbed. But you must take action. Wizards become adults at the age of seventeen, but as the sole remaining Potter and heir, you can be declared an adult at sixteen. _

_With that stated, this is the last time I will attempt to contact you on this matter, Harry Potter. It is now up to you to take charge of your affairs at Gringotts in Diagon Alley. _

_Your Account Manager, Iceshred._

The anger that the wizard felt in the Headmaster's office at the end of the school year was simmering just below the surface, waiting for a chance to let loose. A shame, really, that there was nothing breakable (that wasn't already broken) at hand. Or someone, in which he could rage at. Instead, he was brooding. It was quite obvious that he was being lied to, however he was not sure the extent of it. The fact that he was forced, by simple omission, to miss the reading of his Godfather's will was almost more than he could handle. None of his friend's letters this summer mentioned a will, did any of them go? Surely Sirius wanted Ron and Hermoine there. The three of them had gotten to spend quite abit of time together last summer, not to mention the contact throughout the year.

It was possible for them to not have been informed, just as easily as he wasn't informed. Perhaps Hermoine was just being sensitive by not asking if he had gone to it, if will reading was common in the Muggle world. Ron, well he might not of thought of it all. But it wasn't just the will reading, was it? What were the responsibilties, these duties, that he has being the Heir to the Potter Bloodline? And all these suposedly numerous attempts at contact? Why did Sirius request in his will suddenly 'allow' contact? Was there something blocking contact between him and the rest of the Wizarding world? Besides his friends, of course.

If there was, then it all boiled down to Dumbledore. And thus the brooding was leading to his thoughts of rebellion. Specifically told to stay to the property of his muggle home, he would need to violate that to go to Gringotts. It didn't seem like a good idea to ask for permission to go, which meant he'd have to be sneaky. Which meant he needed the help of his relatives.

Usually on Harry's birthday, he simply got extra chores to do as his present. Though, they never verbally acknowledged it was his birthday. After tossing and turning most of the night, Harry had finally come up with a plan. It involved hiding the chest in the small closet, covering it with his invisibility cloak, but keeping the wad of pounds in his pocket. And instead of being woken up, he was up and cooking breakfast for his relatives. Dudley was still on his diet, but he was able to play with ingredients enough to get a healthy breakfast put together that his Aunt would approve of, but also allowing it to look and smell appetizing.

"Good Morning, Aunt Petunia." Harry greeted with a smile, which resulted in a suspicious look as she looked down her nose at her nephew. Vernon and Dudley were soon lumbering in after the tall thin woman, food typically brought the two rather quickly. Harry greeted them both as he dished them breakfast, making sure to give himself the smallest amount and the most unappetizing bunch of it.

"Boy, you need to paint the fence today while Pet and I head to London for the day with Dudley. " This would be the first of the long list of chores, which was always to long to finish. It didn't help that today fell on the weekend, meaning he was allowed to be outside longer so it wouldn't disturb the neighbors who had to work the next day.

"Actually, Uncle Vernon, I was hoping I could go into London with you." Harry stated quickly as his Uncle took a break after the first chore was listed to eat a forkful of scrambled eggs, which was cooked without the yoke. Since Harry had not really spoken to them at all this summer, they were currently blinking at him in silence. An affronted silence, no doubt. "I have some pounds, Uncle, so I can pay for the gas. It is Birthday money that I got from my friends today." A little bit of emphasis was used on the word birthday, forcing it to be acknowledged.

With that stated, Harry took out the wad of pounds from his pocket and placed it on the table. In his hurry, the wizard had not actually paid attention to how much was there. Although, it wasn't like he knew how much the trip would cost in gas. But, he realized his mistake as the staring was shifted to the wad of cash and the suspicous surprise. "Er, i've been saving my birthday money for several years. And you could just drop me off, I will find my own way home. I don't want to ruin your day or anything."

Vernon picked up the pounds swiftly, counting only a quarter of the paper currency before stuffing it into his own pocket. A grunting nod was issued as he continued to eat. The three Dursleys were to busy thinking about what they could buy and just how rich Harry's friends may be, than to argue with Harry's presence for the trip to London. Though he did recieve a tongue lashing for scaring the muggles when they had climbed into the car without Harry, thinking they had escaped the freak until he removed his invisibility cloak halfway to London. Harry didn't bother to explain to his relatives that he was hiding from the patroling wizards around the house, simply because he didn't want them to know about the patroling wizards.

It was a few blocks from the Leaky Cauldron that he was dropped off. The muggles never noticed Dudley getting out of the car onto the sidewalk, only to get right back into the car. It was a lot easier to roam the halls of Hogwarts after curfew beneath the cloak that the streets of London during the day or to wait patiently to follow a wizard into the Pub and then even longer into Diagon Alley.

Eventually, he made it to Gringotts. And even though he entered the bank beneath his cloak, he noticed several goblins looking directly at him as he moved towards the tellers along the wall. Aparently he wasn't quite so hidden as he hoped and with a careful look around, and not noticing any witches or wizards, he moved up to an available teller.

"I am not a thief, I promise Sir." Came the first thing out of the nervous teenager at the menacing look being directed at him. "I just wish to not be seen and request privacy please." The goblin was silent for several moments before sneering and lifting a clawed hand to motion another goblin over. After an exchange in an unknown language to Harry, he was motioned to follow the other Goblin into a private room off the lobby.

"You may remove the cloak, Mr. Potter." The goblin stated as soon as the door was shut. Surprised, but not really, at being recognized Harry removed the cloak. "Thank you... Griphook." It took a moment for the wizard to find the name to the familiar looking goblin.

Griphook stared at Harry for a few moments in silence, with a look of either surprise or constipation, before sneering in the usual goblin manner. "You requested privacy and it was granted, Mr. Potter. What business do you have at Gringotts today?" While there was nothing friendly about the mannerisms of the goblin, Harry didn't think he was being quite as rude as a typical goblin.

"I would like to speak with my account manager, Iceshred, if he is available. " With this, Griphook nodded and motioned to the conference table and chairs before abruptly leaving the room.


	3. Chapter 2

As Harry was left alone in the conference room, he shifted nervously on his feet for a few moments before selecting a chair at the table. It was a comfortable chair, designed specifically for the person using it sink into the chair in bliss. It made dealing with the wizards easier for the goblins. However, Harry was only sitting on the very edge of the chair and so manage to escape its charm.

Shifting now and then, the young wizard was slowly settling down as he stared at his hands on the polished wooden table. What was he doing? Rushing off foolishly like he had at the end of the year, though at least he was only putting himself in danger. Unless one took the prophecy into account, then he was putting the whole world in danger by venturing out of the safety of his relatives home. But did he believe in the prohecy? Or them in general? Obviously Dumbledore and Voldemort believed in it a great deal.

The contemplating frown was deepening upon the facial features of the wizard as he sat there, staring at his hands and being oblivious that he was no longer alone in the room. Iceshred was standing quietly next to a tapestry of a pile of gold coins, watching the young Heir to his largest account. It was hard to find similarities to the past Potter Lords and Heirs he had worked closely with, some even called a friend. For all intents and purposes, the wizarding sitting slouched in the chair looked like an ill bred beggar. There was nothing noble looking about him. Ungroomed hair, clothes that were obviously muggle, glasses that didn't suit his facial features at all. Upon closer inspection, not only where the clothes muggle but they were obviously way to large for him and looked to be of the poorest grade of material.

However, it wasn't just the physical appearance of the Potter Heir that caused alarm in the goblin, but rather the body language. It suggested someone attempting to hide, someone scared and nervous and well.. a squib. The magic humming around the boy suggested a few spells in place, though he could not be sure of what. The moment the boy became aware of the goblin was easy to detect, for his head jerked in his direction and his body became rigid.

Once eye contact was made, Iceshred knew that not all was lost. For in those green eyes, he saw power and emotion, the anger simmering there was the brightest to see but it soon was replaced by nervousness and curiosity.

"Mr. Potter." The goblin stated in way of greeting as he approached the wizard.

"Hello, Sir. I assume you are Iceshred?" The greeting was returned as Harry rose to his feet, abit akwardly.

"Indeed, I assume you have come in response to the letter you recieved today?" Without waiting for a reply, Iceshred settled into a chair which shifted in size and height to accomodate him at the table. "I must ask you if you have recieved any of our other communications over your life."

The goblin lifted a clawed hand and traced a pattern in the air, which caused a thick leather hide binder to appear upon the table. An emblem of two griffins, profile shot, was embossed upon the leather, each griffin standing upon their hind paws so that their forepaws were outstretched to meet one another. The wings of the griffins were out stretched, a wand took up the space between each hind paw to create a triangle.

Harry had sat after the goblin, his attention upon the book and the griffins with open curiosity. Iceshred, upon seeing the curiousity, sneered and pushed the binder closer to the young wizard so he could get a better look at it.

"That, Mr. Potter, is the insignia of the Potter Bloodline. Is this the first time you've seen it?"

"Yes, it is, and to answer your previous question, the letter I recieved today was the first communication i've recieved from Gringotts." This was answered after a few moments, after taking in his fill of memorizing the insignia of his ancestors. Looking to Iceshred, he took a deep breath.

"Sir, there are many things I do not know. The information in your letter was enough to thoroughly confuse me. Please take into account that yes; I live with muggles and was raised by muggles. What you may not know is that I had no idea I was a wizard until my eleventh birthday. I did not know my parents were wizards, I did not know magic was real. Please treat me like a muggleborn."

Iceshred was quiet for several minutes, simply staring at Harry as if weighing his words. It wasn't hard to believe with what he had seen, heard and witnessed. It was unusual for goblins to interact with wizards outside of Gringotts business. But it was not unheard of for an account manager to befriend a wizard, when their wealth was the size of the Potters. It was because of the simple reason that there would be much contact between the Lord and the account manager, the better the relationship then the easier it was for both parties to profit. And the Heir of the Potter fortune not knowing his responsibilities, well it ultimately affected his standing with Gringotts. Thus, becoming a Gringotts business.

"You will need a wizard tutor, Mr. Potter. One to teach you about being a Pureblood and the responsibilies that comes with being a Heir, which leads to Lord, of a bloodline. To be quite frank, Mr. Potter, you are currently a disgrace to your ancestors. There is nothing about you that states your of Noble blood, that your wealthy and should be someone to take seriously. You look like a muggleborn, who is uneducated, mannerless, and quite poor. You resemble someone who could be mistaken for a squib, especially the way you behave when you believe yourself to be alone." This was all spoken with a sneer, the smaller being managing to look down his nose at the wizard.

All at once, Harry exploded from his seat in a burst of anger. The lips of the boy were even being to curl in what could of been a goblin expression of showing teeth, but it never fully materialized. The anger was as quick to die as it was to ignite, and he was soon slumping back down into the chair.

"Your right.. but I wont be some blood purist who things muggleborns and halfbloods, which I am by the way, are lesser creatures. I have a friend who is a werewolf and another who is a half giant, I wont foresake their friendship!"

"Who says you must, Mr. Potter?" Came the sneering voice of the Goblin, though there was a hint of amusement to the tone. "Your one of the wealthiest wizards in Britain. You can be and do as you wish. "

Cut off in mid rant, Harry blinked at the goblin and emitted an, 'oh.' Which Iceshred simply ignored and continued on. "I suggest, with your political position, that you contact a wealthy pureblood family to help tutor you. I have a list of families, in which your family held alliances or business contracts with. Do you know of anyone that could possibly do this?"

"Well there is Ron Weasely.. but he isn't exactly wealthy. I have a friend, Neville Longbottom, but I don't rightly know if he is wealthy. Then there is my school rival, Draco Malfoy."

Malfoy was stated a joke, which was obviously a personal joke, that the goblin did not understand since he began nodding at the Malfoy name.

"The Malfoy family would be the perfect tutors, however the Longbottoms would be able to do this aswell. Not quite as wealthy or of the same level of the Malfoys, though. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer the Malfoys over the Longbottoms?" At this question, Harry gave a rapid nod of his head several times. Lifting his clawed finger, Iceshred made another tracing motion in the air.

"Now that the tutor business is over, I suggest you file for emancipation so that your muggle relatives or your Headmaster can not interfere at any level." With this stated, the goblin tapped the emblem on the leather twice and then made an upward motion. From the side of the book, a sheet appeared which was placed infront of Harry.

"This is your emancipation papers. A drop of your blood is required to prove you are indeed the Heir to the Potter Bloodline and the last living wizard." A small sheathed knife appeared upon the table with the same motif as the leather binder. Bravely, Harry unsheathed the knife and poked his finger so a drop could fall upon the paper. The blood formed the Potter Insignia, though it was all in red.

As soon as the insignia was finished, a bright glow surrounded Harry for several moments before fading into his skin. Upon opening his eyes, Harry immediately noticed several changes. The first and foremost was that his eyes hurt and his vision was blurry. The second was felt as he tipped his head foreward while rubbing his eyes after removing his glasses, and that was the brush of something soft and silky against his cheek, neck and arm. It took a few moments for his vision to clear after he stopped rubbing his eyes, which he noticed he had perfect vision, and then he noticed his hair was now long enough to fall just below his shoulderblades.

"Lord Potter, it is a pleasure to greet you and I hope gold paves the road of your future." The now standing Iceshred stated, while giving a mild bow that just used the inclination of his head. "By accepting emancipation, your status changed from Heir to Lord. It is customary for Lords of your stature to have long hair. As for your eyes, it long been known that the male Potters had poor eyesight until becoming Lord. "

".. i see.." Harry stated, though he was looking around at the world which seemd so much more vibrant than before. Obviously, his glasses had not been of the correct prescription before. The hair would take getting used to, he thought as he ran his fingers through it and then tucked it behind his ears.

Anything else that might of been said was cut off as the door opened, admitting Griphook and one Augusta Longbottom.


	4. Chapter 3

The first thing that Harry noticed about Mrs. Longbottom was the stuffed vulture on her hat. Why would anyone want to wear such a thing? The fashion of the wizarding world made little sense to him, much less the fashion of women. The second thing he noticed was the severe expression upon her face, which immediately reminded her of his Head of House. The third thing that he noticed was that she was looking between Iceshred and himself in a way that suggested she did not understand why she was summoned here.

"Hello, Mrs. Longbottom," Harry stated politely as he worse awkardly from his seat.

"Mr. Potter." Augusta stated with a nod in a way of greeting as she approached the table and stopped behind a chair.

A pointed look from the chair to Harry had him scrambling to pull it out for her. Iceshred regarded the two as they got the greetings out of the way and once they were both seated, August perched on the very edge stiffly, he started speaking.

"Thank you for the prompt response, Lady Longbottom. It has come to Gringotts' attention that Lord Potter, yes he is now a legal adult, has had no training when it comes to his responsibilites being a Lord holds. Also, he was never informed of his estate nor that he was a wizard until he recieved his Hogwarts letter. As such, he needs a tutor and Lord Potter had requested you."

As Icreshred was speaking, Harry was shifting nervously in his seat and was, quite frankly, overwhelm at everything. Iceshred seemed to be in a hurry, with the speed at which changes were happening. As for Augusta, she was listening intently to the goblin though he had been observing the new Lord. She knew he was new because of his posture and clothing. Also, because of what she knew about Harry Potter from her grandson, Neville.

Augusta had noticed a change in her grandson when he came home from Hogwarts, which led to a long conversation over tea. Neville had confidence in his abilities and he had matured over the school year and from what he told her, it was due to Harry Potter's friendship and guidance. And thus she felt a desire to help him, so what if a side affect would be a stronger alliance between the House of Potter and Longbottom? Surely, Neville would benefit also from the one-on-one time over the summer with Potter as well.

"Is this true, Lord Potter?" She inquired of the nervous looking boy. How could he be such a good teacher and leader in combat when he looked ready to hide under the table?

"Yes, ma'am. I grew up with my muggle relatives and they told me my parents were drunks and died in a car accident. I never knew about such a thing as magic until I recieved my Hogwarts letter. I thought it was a joke or a mistake being sent to me, but I saw how it was addressed I knew it wasn't.." Here Harry trailed off with a frown and quick look to the table.

"What do you mean? How it was addressed?" Lady Longbottom's tone suggested she did not have the patience for playing twenty questions and he would finish his sentences. The goblin was simply listening and observing, a faint sneer lingering upon his facial features.

"Well.. it was addressed to the Cupboard under the Stairs, which was my bedroom my whole life before the letter. When I returned for my first summer, they gave me Dudley's second bedroom. He is my cousin. I would like it very much if I did not have to return there and if you were to tutor me, Ma'am. Iceshred assures me payment would be no problem."

While Iceshred's expression didn't change, Lady Longbottom's spine stiffened as she froze for several moments. Sure, Nevile and her did not have a close relationship because she thought him a squib for the longest time but she still loved him. Still treated him properly. The posture and body language of the young Lord brought on a while new meaning now to her.

"Payment will be in the form you have already established, Mr. Potter. Continue to be a positive influence on my Neville. The Potters and Longbottoms have always been friends for many generations. As for where you shall stay, you shall stay with us. Iceshred, I want new wards applied to my properties that will ensure the Ministry and Dumbledore will not be able to locate Lord Potter, aswell as any magic done there. Do you have anything else to discuss with Lord Potter?"

With those words, Lady Longbottom rose to her feet to clearly show she was ready to leave and expected those wards promptly. The Longbottoms have always employed the goblins to do their property wards, it made it much harder for wizards to disable them.

"Yes, but it can be done at a later date when Lord Potter has a better grasp of his duties. There are, however, numerous spells on Lord Potter that I would suggest having looked at once behind the safety of your wards, Lady Longbottom. "

"Come, Mr. Potter, we shall take a portkey back to the estate so you are not seen." A kurt nod was issued to Iceshred as she reached out to grasp the still overwhelmed Lord as the portkey activated.


	5. Chapter 4

Travelling by portkey was one of the least favorite manners of travel for Harry, so it took him a few moments to regain his senses before taking in the house before him. Perhaps mansion was a better term than house. The surprisingly quick stride of Lady Longbottom took him by surprise, but he kept up as he looked over the perfectly manicured lawn and garden as they walked along the cobbled pathway.

Upon entering the foyer, Lady Longbottom called a house elf to show Harry to Neville's wing, instructing for the house elf to show him to a guest bedroom that he shall be staying in.

"Lord Potter, we shall discuss everything after the evening meal." She stated as she turned to him and then strode out of the foyer quickly.

"..alright.." Harry slowly stated as he simply blinked at the woman leaving him with the house elf, an elf who was eyeing him suspicously. The house elf behaved much like his Mistress, by simply turning and leading him up a elegantly curved staircase to the second floor. After walking down a long hallway, which also curve, the house elf opened a door to a large bedroom with its own sitting room, walk in closet, and bathroom.

"Where be Master Potter's belongings?" The house elf suddenly demanded. "And proper clothes?"

"Oh.. my trunk is back at my house, locked in the cupboard under the stairs. " At the staring at the house elf, he proceeded to state the adress and describe the layout of the house only to have the elf disappear in mid sentence. With a sigh, he placed the folded up invisibility cloak in the closet as he took a closer look around his new room.

The room was almost four times larger than his old bedroom and much more comfortable with nice dark cherry wood furniture. There was a fireplace, with a thick soft fur rug in front of it, along with a comfortable looking two seater sofa and a single person reclining chair. A large desk situated in the corner of the sitting room, which looked to be a hand carved desk. There was large double glass doors leading out to a balcony, which overlooked the garden.

Walking through the archway into the bedroom, the first thing to notice was the kingsize four post bed. Which seemed to look very comfortable, much better than his small stiff bed in his old bedroom. There was an entrance into the closet and bathroom from this room aswell. A large bay window provided a place to lounge and daydream while looking outside, if he so wished. The color scheme of the rooms was dark cherry wood furniture, with cream and burgandy accents. Plants seemed to take up the corners or the walls, in the inset plant shleves, which was no double Neville's doing with his love of plants. The ceiling of the rooms was charmed to show the sky but one could control how much sunlight was allowed in.

The emotional rollercoaster of the day and night finally caught up to the young lord as he settled to sit upon the baywindow cushions, leaning against the wall with a sigh. His life still seemed out of his control, but hopefully with Augusta's help, that would be changing soon enough. Harry never noticed Neville outside, staring at the window, as he drifted off to sleep with his cheek pressed against the glass.

Surprisingly, it wasn't with a sore neck and back that Harry woke up to. Instead of the bay window, where he fell asleep, he woke up in the middle of the quite soft bed with its satin sheets. What was more disturbing than waking in bed, was the fact that he was naked under said sheets. Even after pinching himself, Harry decided that he really wasn't dreaming. Hopefully it wasn't Neville that came in, moved and stripped him. Or worse yet, Augusta.

With a shudder, the teenaged lord slid out of the large bed and onto the soft cream colored rug and moved towards the walk in closet. Hopefully his trunk was here, as he couldn't see the clothes he had been wearing. "Oh no." Harry groaned at the empty closet, which did house his trunk and invisibility cloak, but his trunk was empty of clothes! If he was at the Burrow, he would immediately assume the twins were up to one of their practical jokes, but it was highly unlikely they were spending the summer here.

Wrapping the invisibility cloak around his shoulders, and double checking to make sure he wasn't going to be flashing anyone, he went about calling for a house elf.

"Er.. elf?" Nothing.

"House elf?" Nothing.

What name did Lady Longbottom use to call the house elf? He did not recall a name, he hadn't really been paying all that much attention to be honest. The only house elf he knew was Dobby. But could he call Dobby without Dumbledore knowing? He worked for Hogwarts now. And then he remembered suddenly about a time Sirius had been muttering about Kreacher not responding to his snap and only if he yelled his name loudly. The flash of memory caused a frown and sharp emotional pain, but he snapped his fingers anyways.

The house elf that appeared wasn't the one that led him to his bedroom. Instead, it was an older house elf wearing a cream silk outfit that was trimmed in scarlet with the Potter Crest embroidered in the top right chest. The house elf seemed surprised to be there and was staring at Harry for a few moments before bowing. "Lord Potter has finally called Pard. How may I be of service?"

"I have a house elf?" Harry asked stupidly before realizing that if he was a wealthy as Iceshred made him out to be, of course he would have a house elf! But before he could say anything else, Pard blinked at him.

"Master, you have twenty-two house elves. Pard is Head of the Potter elves and comes to the call of Lord Potter until a personal house elf is established. Master, why are you wearing only your invisibility cloak? And why have you waited all these years to call?" While the house elf was being polite, it was obvious that he was upset.

"Harry. Just call me Harry, I do not like being anyone's Master. As for the cloak.. well, a house elf fetched my trunk from my relatives and brought it back with no clothes.. er do you happen to have some spare clothes for me?"

With a snap of his fingers, Harry was suddenly fully clothed. Removing the cloak, which he settled upon the shelf, he looked himself over with a grin. Yes, he could like being a lord. Cream colored dress slacks, which fit perfectly, a silk cream shirt with a deep v collar was trimmed in scarlet, matching the scarlet embroidered Potter Crest upon the left upper part of his chest. A black leather belt and polished black comfortable shoes went with the open casual black robe. The sleeves of the robe flared subly once past his elbows, which came to stop at the middle of his palm. Once more the Potter Crest was embroidered upon the robes over his upped left chest, though it was cream and scarlet. It was when he was looking at the scarlet and cream bands on the cuffs of the sleeves that he noticed the ring upon his left ring finger.

The ring was gold and inlaid with diamonds and rubies to make the Potter Crest. Lightly a finger ran over it before he turned a questioning look to Pard.

"Where did this ring come from, Pard?"

"It is the Lordship ring of the Potter Family, it replaced your heir ring."

"I didn't have a heir ring.. look, Pard, I want to let you know that I didn't know anything about heir and lords until this morning. Lady Longbottom shall be instructing me in what I need to know. Then I-.."

Harry was cut off by the sudden arrival of the house elf that had shown him the room. Which did not look pleased to see Pard. Infact, the two of them glared at each other.

"Where is Master Potter's clothes, thief!" Pard wheeled upon the elf, effectively placing himself between his master and the Longbottom elf. Said immediately took offense to being called a thief.

"How dare you invade my Mistress' territory! Out! Out! Loppy not be stealing Lord Potter's clothes! Out! There was only rags in his trunk! Out! He be having no proper clothes! Out! Your a bad bad bad house elf to be letting him where them! Out!"

Pard looked properly scandalized, almost as much when he heard Harry say he had no heir ring, and looked ready to leap upon Loppy.

"Enough!" Harry raised his voice as he tried to get between the two enraged house elves, something he never thought he would see. "Pard, I will call you later. Please return to where you have been and organize the elves to be meeting me in a few days.. " Harry trailed off upon hearing a quiet snicker and looked out of the closet he was still in.

There stood Neville with an amused grin upon his face as he watched Harry standing in a closet, trying to force himself between two fighting house elves. Flashing a grin a Neville, with a roll of his eyes, he looked back to the elves.

"Yes, Master. Pard will be listening for Masters call." Pard stated while glaring at Loppy, who was still no doubt yelling 'out!' in his head.

"Dinner shall be ready in five minutes." Loppy stated as soon as Pard was gone and then disappeared himself.

"House elves!" Harry laughed as he walked out of the closet and over to Nevile, whom had gotten his snickers under control and was looking over Harry thoughtfully.

"I was waiting for you to wake up in your sitting room, but heard you yell so decided to investigate." Neville stated with a grin. "Gram said you were staying for the rest of the summer?" The grin shifted into a confused look. While the two of them were friends, they weren't great friends. Why wasn't Harry at the Burrow with the Wealseys?

Instead of answering verbally, Harry's stomach growled loudly which reminded him that he missed lunch. With a grin, he patted his stomach. "How about we talk about that over dinner? Your grandmother had a few things to talk to me about all of it.. to be honest, I am not exactly sure how I got here."

"Alright, Gram will be mad if we are late." Neville stated as he led him out into the Hall and out of his wing of the mansion. "Nice clothes, by the way. And hair. No glasses. And ring. Lord Potter.. shall I call you 'your Lordship'?" Neville stated with a grin as he looked at the young man walking next to him.

" Ha ha ha.. well, actually, 'your Lordship' has a nice ring to it. " Harry returned the grin, though he was surprised that the typical quiet Neville was teasing him. If he had been Ron, they wouldn't be talking due to the redhead's jealousy. There wouldn't be anyway for him to hide this from Ron, but he would deal with that later.

Upon entering the large dinning room, which held a long rectangular table that could easily sit twenty people, Neville sat upon his grandmother's right at the end of the table which had Harry automatically sitting on the left.

"Where did you get those clothes, Lord Potter? I was under the impression you had nothing to designate you Lord Potter." Augusta asked as she looked over Harry approvingly.

"Oh. Well, I accidently called a Potter house elf when I woke up and realized there was no clothing in my room." A tinge of pink colored the cheeks of the young Lord as he recalled waking up naked. A quick glance at Nevile, he relaxed seeing no smirking which would indicate he knew Harry had been left naked. Harry firmly decided that the house elf, Loppy, had stripped and moved him and not either Longbottom. "And he gave me these."

"Well, that is one less thing to go over. While it is rude to have your own elf while staying under the roof of another family, it is a good idea. You will need to learn how to interact with your property. Now, no more business talk while we eat." With that stated, food appeared upon their plates which started a very long dinner.

Even though Augusta had said no business talk, she had immediately began correcting how he sat, how he ate, which utensils he used for what. Even on how to hold said utensils. Harry was much to shocked and mortified to respond at first, but when he noticed Neville was being corrected, he felt better. Given, Neville only had to be corrected once whereas Harry hardly got to eat his food before it got cold or changed to a new course.


	6. Chapter 5

With dinner over, Lady Longbottom rose from her chair and when Neville immediately rose aswell, Harry promptly followed suite. Augusta nodded in approval and turned towards the doorway.

"Come, Lord Potter, we will talk in the sitting room. Neville, go and worked on your summer assignments."

"Ma'am, I would like Neville to stay as we talk. "

"Lord Potter, there will be quite abit of personal information shared by you." A look accompanied that statement, which stated he may not want Neville to know certain things. Neville, for his part, was glancing between the two of them curiously.

"I trust Neville and I value his opinon and friendship. " The tone did not sound as confident as Harry would like, it was hard to talk about certain aspects of his life but he had an urge for someone to know. For Neville to know. And he couldn't understand that urge.

"Very well." While she didn't show it, Augusta was pleased that Harry Potter thought so highly of her grandson. And as for Neville? He knew Harry and him had spent more time together last year, but he was clearly surprised and pleased.

When they were all settled comfortably in the sitting room, Loppy having served a light tea for after the evening meal, Augusta began to outline the next month of Harry's life. A schedule for his tutoring sessions, and a book list, had even been developed since their return from Gringotts. Harry didn't speak much, he simply nodded and said 'Yes, Ma'am,' when it was required of him.

"Neville, you know most of this already but you will be sitting on some of these lessons aswell for a refresher and to aid Lord Potter. Do you have any questions?"

"I do, Grams. Why does Harry need this knowledge? Didn't Dumbledore explain all this? Isn't he your Magical Guardian?" Neville shifted his gaze to Harry as he spoke, clearly surprised and confused as he learned exactly why Harry was living with them for the rest of the summer. Neville pretty much went through this each summer, so he didn't have a complaint about the new schedule that included him somewhat aswell.

"Well, Neville, you know I grew up with muggles. I didn't even know I was a wizard until I got my Hogwarts letter. I knew nothing of the wizarding world and I pretty much still know nothing, besides school. Dumbledore is not my magical guardian. He is more like my jailor. He tells me nothing, controls and manipulates my life.. and he constantly sends me back to those muggles!" By the time Harry finished speaking, his anger had spiked and he was pretty much spitting out Dumbledore's name like a Slytherin would.

"Well, he let you come here didn't he?" Neville asked abit hesitantly.

"He has no idea I am here, hopefully. Dumbledore is not legally my magical guardian. Hell, I didn't even know what a magical guardian was! But Iceshred, a goblin, told me that neither my parents nor Sirius appointed him as my guardian. It is only because of his political power and placement as Headmaster that he has been able to interfere with my life. I mean, I never thought of it before, but why should a Headmaster of the school I attend have any control of my life when I am not at school?"

Unable to sit still, Harry surged from his chair and began to pace tightly back and forth over the rug infront of the sofa. The anger was still going strong, but there was a hint of sadness and grief in his tone of voice as he continued to rant.

"And its not just my life that he controls! He tells Ron and Hermoine when they can write, what they can write. He was blocking my mail from everyone but the two. Made me miss my Godfather's will reading. Expects me to be his perfect little golden Gryffindor weapon to kill off Voldemort to satisfy some stupid prohecy that fake Trelawney made abou- "

There was a distinct sudden silence in the room as Harry froze in mid rant and stride as he realized just what he blurted out. Stupid stupid stupid! There was a distinct urge to run out of the room and perhaps the house. But he couldn't runaway. This was his life. He had to deal with it, but he knew he needed help. How could he save the wizarding world when he couldn't clean up the mess that was his life?

Sinking down back into his seat, he took a deep breath as he calmed himself while looking to the two Longbottoms. Neither seemed particularly surprised, which confused him. Neville was watching him apprehensively, which is more than likely because he has experienced Harry's temper in the dorm and common room. Augusta decidedly looked thoughtful.

"Well, that explains why you grew up with muggles, Lord Potter. And don't give me any sort of rubish about growing up without fame. I wouldn't be surprised if he chose those muggles more for the fact that you would grow up unloved and abused moreso than to keep you away from your fame. Its a classic move, really. Your suppose to look to Dumbledore to rescue you each summer. Everything you do has to be okayed by him, which conditions you to look to him for permission, advice and to be loyal to him. It has its flaws, no doubt. You could of easily gone into Slytherin with which the conditions you were raised in. There, you no doubt would of already realized the things your just now realizing, in your first year. "

"The Longbottoms are a Light family, Lord Potter. But we are not Dumbledore lovers, so do not worry about us turning you over to him. You will learn what rights you have this summer and when you return to school, you will no longer be a pushover for him. Now it is getting late and you have an early day tomorrow. Off to bed, both of you. Oh, and another thing Lord Potter. You seem to be forgetting, even though I keep calling you Lord Potter, that you are no longer a minor. Your a Lord of an old and politcally powerful and wealthy family. Dumbledore has no control over you, you do not even need to return to Hogwarts if you so choose. Now, off you go."

With that, both young men left the room in a thoughtful silence as they returned to Neville's wing. It was at Harry's door that they stopped and Neville placed a supportive, and surprisingly strong, hand upon Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, you named the DA Dumbledore's Army. I didn't join it for Dumbledore. I joined it because of my belief in you. I am loyal to you. Have a goodnight." With a slight squeeze of his hand, Neville disappeared down the hall to his own room to leave behind a thoughtful Potter.

Upon entering his room, Harry sunk down into the comfortable two seater sofa before the fire to relax. Just as he was closing his eyes, he heard the arrival of a house elf and grunted as he opened his eyes. Pard stood there, looking around for a moment before gazing upon Harry.

"Master, I filled your closet here with clothing that the Lord of the family wears for formal and semi formal affairs. The clothing is made with special material that will size them to fit you and have been worn for generations. I took the liberty of buying a few outfits for casual wear until your able to purchase a wardrobe. "

"Thank you, Pard. Is there anyway for me to buy things without going out to get them?"

"You can send your elves shopping, Master. But you can also do what is called owl ordering. Some stores have magazines your can order out of. "

"Excellent. Can you get me some catalougs? I am going to bed, I will call you tomorrow or the next day to discuss a personal house elf, Pard. Lady Longbottom thought it a good idea to keep one here with me. " When the house elf disappeared, Harry shifted to throw a leg over an arm rest while his head rested on the other. For hours he gazed into the fire thinking of his birthday, which led to Sirius.


	7. Chapter 6

Harry distinctly recalled falling asleep before the fire, sprawled over the sofa, yet he woke up once more in the middle of his new bed. Naked. But those weren't the first concerns of the young lord, for he was fighting the sheets tangled around him as he pulled himself from the depths of his nightmare. And loosing terribly.

The dream, ironically enough, started out as a rather good dream. It had nothing to do with the average wizard's desires, like a beautiful girlfriend, graduating as top of his class and Head Boy nor was it about securing acceptance into the Auror program. The dream was simply about his short term end goals; gaining control of his life. About being able to come and go freely, being able to buy what he wanted when he wanted, of becoming someone that others looked to with respect or for advice.

Eventually the dream cycled to seeing his parents and his godfather, of them saying how proud they were of him and that they've been watching him. Then in the next instant, they were frowning and saying how he was an idiot for not realizing that he was being an idiot, for not asking questions, for not taking control of his life. And more importantly, for killing Sirius. If he had done all this prior, or even asked Sirius the questions he should of, then he would be living with and being taught by Sirius.

It was during this scolding that Voldemort loomed up behind the trio with his wand tip glowing a sickly green color. No matter how much Harry yelled or pleaded, the trio ignored him as they dropped dead one by one. It was as Sirius dropped that Harry was able to move out of his frozen state, to lunge for Sirius.

A good thing Harry was too far in the middle of the king size bed, or he may of fallen out of the bed as he struggled with the sheets. Before he had time to calm himself down or fully wake up, said sheets suddenly disappeared to leave him floundering for several heartbeats like a fish out of the water. Harry did calm down as he fully swam into full alertness, blinking at wear the sheet was.

"Bad bad bad dream! Bad bad bad sheets! Spink hate bad dreams! Spink hate bad sheets! er Spink has no sheets! Bad spink for lying!" The young house elf on the side of the bed began to bang his head on the side of the bed, though the soft material was doing little to now damage.

Harry, for his part, almost had a heart attack at the sudden excited words speared the darkened air and almost flew off the bed as he lunged in the opposite direction. Roughly pushing the long hair from his face, which was sticking due to his sweaty state thanks to the nightmare, he peered in the darkness at the unknown elf.

"Spink? Spink! Stop! " Harry yelled at the elf who kept saying 'bad! bad! bad!' with every bang of his face against the bed. A pillow was blindly grabbed, to cover his exposed groin, as he got the attention of the house elf.

"Yes sirree!" The excited elf said as he bounced onto the bed and towards Harry, only to bounce lightly on his feet. "Spink in trouble for comming to see the Master!"

Bounce.

" but spink curious!"

Bounce.

" and Master did not look to be having fun! "

Bounce.

"then Master was fighting with the sheets and spink helped Master! "

Bounce.

"so spink should not be in trouble! No sirree! "

Bounce. Bounce.

Oh. No. Another Dobby. Atleast he was not going on about how great a wizard he is. Reaching beneath the pillows, his fingers blindly found his wand and he performed a tempus spell. Six in the morning. While Harry would of liked to sleep in longer, it was doubtful that would happen. Sighing, he turned his attention back to the bouncing elf.

"Spink stop bouncing."

"Spink want to serve Master. What Master want? tea? biscuits? breakfast? clothes? toys? oh! fire!" The young elf disappeared only to reappear ten feet away at the fireplace, which he got it going after a few moments. Once the fire took, he disappeared only to reappear back infront of Harry and stared at him with big eyes and the droopey ears looked perked somewhat. Translation; an elf looking for praise.

And so, Harry reached out to pat the head of the elf while saying, "Good boy. Now can you draw a bath? " With a rapid nod, the elf disappeared.

Groaning and mumbling about his life, Harry slid from the bed onto the soft rug so he could move to the bottom of the bed. Folded there was a scarlet nightrobe, which Harry was soon pulling on as he slipped into matching slippers on the floor. Walking out into the sitting room, he noticed the fireplace there was lit aswell to provide flickering light since the sky was still dark except on the horizon.

A small table had appeared before the sofa and upon it, were stacks of magazines. Curious about them, Harry picked up the top one and flipped through it. It didn't take long to figure out it was a shopping catalog, they all were. Pard certainly was fast. As he set the catalog back down, to go through later, Pard appeared next to the table and gave a bow.

"Master Potter, good morning. I got a variety of catalogs for you, if there is a type or certain store that you do not have, simply tell me. I have informed all of your elves that you shall be comming to inspect them, you will be pleased to know they are scrambling to make sure everything is in order and they are very excited."

"Morning, Pard. Yes, I was shown first hand how excited they would be. I w-"

Harry was cut off by the sudden appearance of Spink, who was rocking exictedly back and forth on his feet. "Masters bath is ready. Bubbles are fun, spink got bubbles for Master! Master wa- oh, hello Pard." The ears of the young elf drooped upon seeing the older elf and the rocking stopped.

"Spink! I expressly told you to leave Master Potter alone! That you would get to meet him when Master chose! Bad elfling!

"But Mas-" Spink began, only to be cut off by the elder elf.

"No spink! Your being bad!" He ranted, shaking his little fist.

"Enough! Pard, while Spink obviously broke your rules to come here.. he saved me from some very mean sheets and is helping me get ready for the day. Thank you, Spink. But you need to listen to your elders, especially Pard as he is the one in charge of you. Now, I need to take a bath and get ready for today's lessons. Return to where you came from. I will call if I need you."

Abruptly, Harry stalked towards the bathroom to leave the elves behind. It was way to early to deal with yet another fight between the smaller folk. Harry couldn't help but grimace at the strong scent of flowers as he entered the bathroom. The large tub was almost overflowing with bubbles. Tempted to merely take a shower instead, he decided to brave the flowery bubbles for a hot soak instead. Besides, the scent wouldn't cling to him if he showered afterwards. Right?

Wrong. Having met Neville in the hallway to walk to breakfast together, he had already been teased by Neville. Neville had put on a show by pointing out various flowers that were used to get that particular scent as he attempted to guess the name of it. At the doors to the sunroom, where they casually ate meals in the morning and afternoon, Nevile grinned widely and snapped his fingers to exclaim.

"I got it! I don't know the name, but you smell like Grams!"

Whatever happened to nice quiet and shy Neville? Harry was beginning to miss him.

Breakfast was a relaxed atmosphere compared to dinner the night before, only a few corrections made. But Harry wasn't sure if that was due to him becoming more civilized, as Augusta called it, or because she liked the way he smelled. She had commented on it after the boys seated themselves at the small round table.

"You smell quite refreshing, Lord Potter. I have several different varieties of oils for a bath if you wish to expand your collection." She stated as she spread jam upon a croissant.

Needless to say, Harry was quite ready to depart the table in embarassment when breakfast was done.

Surprisingly, the first lesson had nothing to do with his responsibilities on how to manage his properties, employees, politics, how to behave and manners. Instead it consisted of two beautiful young women and their mother, along with a magical wardrobe.

"Lord Potter, this is Madame Luca and her two daughters, Annette and Antoinette. While you've acquired a formal wardrobe, she will be outfitting you with a complete wardrobe. You might aswell learn to look like a Lord, since that is much easier to accomplish than learning such a complex role. Now I shall leave you until lunch tomorrow, I have important meetings to attend to." With that stated she nodded to the women and Neville before turning to take her leave.

"Wait! Lady Longbottom, how am I to know what to buy?"

"I keep telling you, Lord Potter. Your no longer a minor and in control of your own life. That includes making your own decisions." And with that, she swept out of the room.

Neville, while he was standing there quietly, looked highly amused. Atleast, when he wasn't being distracted by the two lovely twins. "Don't worry, Harry, I wont abandon you to these lovely ladies." A smile was given before giving a mild bow to the Madame.

The twins giggled and courtsied to the two boys before being shooed off by Madame Luca to go and get things ready. Turning to Harry, she began to wave her wand around to clear the furniture out of the way and conjure up a raised platform.

"Now, no worries Lord Potter. All three of us have signed a contract to not let anyone know where you are, nor are we allowed to tell anyone you shop with us until you present yourself to the press. Now! Up you go!"

Much like in the past, measuring tapes flew about Harry to measure him as Madame Luca walked around him to get a look to see what she is working with. The wardrobe had been opened to show that it folded out to show several different garments at a time. Various catalogs were laid out on the table, where Neville seated himself in a chair to begin pointing things out to one of the twins.

Four hours. It took four hours for Madame Luca to decide he was done, for now. Thank Merlin for magic! She had been able to magic various articles of clothing on and off of Harry, so he didn't have to spend those four hours dressing and undressing. The colorscheme of the Potter family was scarlet, cream and black. So he got several outfits to include one, two or all three of those colors. Almost all of his clothing would have the Potter Crest upon it, whether it was embroidered on a sleeve, collar, on the back, side or front. Or in the form of a patch. A lord was to show pride in his heritage, afterall.

Best of all, Madame Luca had muggle style clothing. Of course, they were made out of wizarding material and mostly popular with the wealthy muggleborns of halfbloods. But, Harry loved them. Everything was fitted for his frame with spells to adjust with his growth spurts and made from the most expensive of materials. Harry wouldn't really realize that until later, though.

While Neville refused hour after hour for Harry to buy him anything, he finally relented on one outfit for muggle London to fit in, if they ever decided to go exploring. When asked about battle robes and armor, Madame Luca explained she could have him pick out what he liked, but she would have to give the measurements to her cousin who specialized in making them. Harry selected three styles that would do better in different circumstances and managed to order Neville a general set without him knowing.

Harry was quite frankly amazed at how many charms could be applied to clothing or embued in the material and then the clothing made. Those would take the longest, but he would recieve the first shipment of clothing in a few days.

Harry was definately glad that was over with and that it was done in the comfort of Neville's home and not various stores. Clumsily, Harry got to flirt for several hours with the twins, remain red almost the entire time.

Also, they kept mentioning flowers and looking for bouqets.

Dinner that night was a relaxed atmosphere, both boys taking the opportunity to slouch on furniture outside in the garden as they ate and joked around. Which led Neville to giving Harry a tour of his private gardens, where they engaged in conversation for hours. Potions, of all things, was the main topic as Neville introduced Harry to different plants. Neville, apparently, was great at potion theory but Snape and the Slytherins just scared him or made him too nervous to be any good in the classroom practical.

When quidditch came up in conversation, Neville mentioned he was too out of shape for sports.

"I got over my fear of heights during the flight to the Ministry. There was just too many other things to worry about, more important things. But it isn't just flying, Harry, its the physical aspect of the game I can't keep up with. " Neville said in response to Harry inquiries about why he never tried out, since he sounded like he liked the game.

"Well, Neville, that isn't going to change unless you get out there and be active. You probably have good upper body strength due to your time in the greenhouses and your garden. How about we both work on that this summer? While learning to be a Lord is important, it wont mean shit if Voldemort kills me. I need to train that aspect of my life too. "

"You mean, have our own little DA here? Just the two of us, Harry?"

"Great idea! I was thinking of exercise, but we can do both. I have all my books and we can order more. We should revise what we can while seeing if we could learn new spells."

"Lets check the library then! I have Aurors in the family afterall!" An excited Neville exclaimed with a grin.

And so both boys disappeared back into the House, Neville leading the way to the Master library.


	8. Chapter 7

The personal library of Frank Longbottom was not as impressive, upon first glance, as the Black library. It only took Harry thirty seconds of scanning the spines of the books to change his mind. While the Black library was larger, the majority of the books were of the Dark Arts and not something Harry had an interest in, this library was full of Defense Against the Dark Arts books, aswell as battle tactics. Harry's grin was getting larger by the second as his fingertips ran across the spines of old and new books, though when he got to a particular title he couldn't help but laugh.

"Neville, this had to be written by a Muggleborn," Harry stated as he pulled the book off the shelf to flip through it. "There are several muggle books that start with the same title." The title of the book was 'Shields for Dummies' and next to its empty slot was 'Stunners for Dummies' and 'Curses for Dummies'.

"Really?" Neville said as he abandoned his quest for his father's Auror training book to get a look at the title. Neville had never spent much time in the library, he had never really been interested in fighting. However, now he understood the value the knowledge in this room and wished he could change his past studies.

"I bet these books will be great for the basics, especially for the DA and the Muggleborns will be able to relate easier aswell." The writing in the book went to extreme detail, from what Harry had glanced through so far.

After an extensive time looking through the library, the two boys had realized what the layout was. The shield section had beginner, intermediate and advanced books. Some of the books had many shield spells in it and some only a handful. Some were reference books that gave no instruction on the spells in it, but rather why it was used, what it was used for and the history of the spell creation. Shields was the largest section of the library, next to it was a variety of stunners, immobilization and binding spells. The smallest section was curses , but Harry figured he could find some books in the Black library to make up for the lack of books on curses.

Or maybe the Potter vaults or properties, once he was able to sit down with Iceshred and discuss what he owned.

Neither of the boys were Hermoine and so randomly plucked books from all sections, though they stuck to the beginner and intermediate books for the moment. The books had been carted back to Harry's room and after moving all the shopping catalogs, the books were piled on the floor next to the small table infront of the fire.

The 'Dummies' books in all section had been taken with them and both of the boys were looking through the books and making a list of any spells in them that they didn't know.

"Harry, while I agree that its a good idea to know what we don't know, but you can't expect to learn all the spells you don't know." Neville stated as he set his book down and reached for his bottle of Butterbeer.

"Why not?" While Neville was relaxed in the current atmosphere and casually going through the book to make his list, Harry was tense and writing as fast as he could. It was obvious that Harry was becoming more and more stressed as his list of spells grew longer.

"You don't have enough time before school starts. Yes, we can bring the books with us to school and continue to learn, but in order to excell you will need to practice the spells over and over. " Neville leaned forward to snap the book shut that Harry was flipping through the pages of, making it apparent he was only half paying attention to Neville.

With the book snapped shut, Harry darted his attention to Neville with a glare. The exclaimation of 'What the hell, Neville!' died on his lips at the serious and confident aura that his friend was projecting as he demanded Harry's attention. Setting his quill down, Harry leaned back on the sofa as he picked up his own Butterbeer while watching Neville intently.

"Harry, when we were fighting Death Eaters there wasn't time to think. The spells that we were using was limited, but we knew them. They came instinctually from our time practicing them in the DA. I think we need to get definitions of each spell on our list, select the ones that have the most applicable use from each group of spells and specialize in them. Once we feel that we Mastered a spell, then we can move on."

By the time Neville was done speaking, he had a faint blush to show his embarassment. Neville was maturing and his confidence was showing, but he typically tended to surprise himself in such moments and then become embarassed. It didn't help that Harry continued to stare contemplatively at Neville for several minutes in silence before speaking.

"Your right, Neville. But instead of everyone learning the same spells, we should mix it up. That way, its harder to be predictable to the Death Eaters. We could designate certain people to study more on defense, others on offense but still have them study both. We could do teams, that way, so people learn to fight as a unit and not an individual."

"Thats a good idea, Harry. While one person is shielding, the other can be cursing and then trade off to throw off their enemies. You should write to Ron and Hermoine with these ideas."

"I can't, Neville. I don't want anyone to know where I am. Hedwig is at Hogwarts with the school owls, I figured she would be happier there." Not to mention, Harry was in no mood to be socializing when he was so angry and depressed over the death of his Godfather.

"Do you mind if I write them then, Harry? I wont mention that your here."

"Thats fine, Neville."

"That reminds me, Harry. If you don't mind talking about it, how did you come home with grams? You've been here almost two days and I still haven't gotten the story out of you or her."

"It seems forever ago." Harry stated at he stared at his almost empty bottle of Butterbeer. His life had changed so drastically in such a short amount of time. It was almost like his eleventh birthday all over again. "I celebrate my birthday at midnight. I was going through the usual presents when I found a letter from Gringotts in the pile. Once I opened the letter, a chest appeared on the floor next to me. In short, the letter informed me that I missed the reading of Sirius will and that Iceshred, whom is my account manager, has been trying to contact me for several years. "

A deep breath was taken as he attempted to calm himself down, just thinking of that letter was pissing Harry off. "Dumbledore," The named was practically spat from his mouth. "has been intercepting my mail and trying to set himself up as my magical guardian. He has no legal rights to it, but his political power has allowed people to turn a blind eye to his dealings with me. So I went to Gringotts. Iceshred said I needed a tutor and I mentioned your name. Next thing I know, your gradmother is in the room. To be honest, everything was happening so fast once I stepped into Gringotts, that I was probably just nodding and not realizing what I was agreeing to. But I am glad I am here."

With that, he shared a grin with Neville. It was obvious that Neville was glad that Harry was there aswell. "So what was in the chest, Harry?" Neville asked casually, not expecting Harry to explode off the sofa.

Which he did. "The chest!" Harry yelled in sudden panic as he bolted from the sitting room and into the closet that had a door from both this room and his bedroom. Neville followed at a safe distance, to watch Harry frantically looking through his things and then into his bedroom for it.

"Neville, its not here! It must still be at my house. I need to go get it." Harry was busy yanking on his shoes as he spoke, intent on going right this moment.

"Er Harry. Why don't you use your house elf?"

Harry paused, one foot raised and himself bent over awkwardly to tie his sneaker. Hopping to gain his balance, he sunk down onto the side of his bed and gave a short laugh. It was easy to hear the fighting emotions of embarassment and sadness in the laugh. The thought of loosing the chest from Sirius almost sent him into hysterics. How could he have allowed himself to get caught up in the last two days to forget about it?

Taking a deep breath, he snapped his fingers. The result was two house elves appearing in the room. One was the distinguised Pard and the other was the bouncing young spink.

"You called, Master?"

"Spinks here Master! Whats Master needs?"

Both elves spoke at the same time, which was followed by Pard frowning at Spink and the young elf shrinking away from the older elf. Before Pard could start yelling at the elfling, Harry captured their attention.

"Yes. I still need somethings from my room where I lived the the muggles. Pard, would you be able to find it and get my stuff for me?"

"Yes, Master. While I don't know the specific place, I will be able to find it since your magical residue would be ingrained in the house. I am sorry for spink's behavior Master. He will be apropriately punished for disobeying. Again."

The elfling's ears drooped more and his big eyes began glistening with tears before lunging forward and attaching himself to Harry's leg.

"No no no! spink helps Master! no punishes! spink good good good! please let spinks help master!" The elf was clinging and trying to bounce at the same time. Thankfully, Dobby hadn't appeared aswell. Patting spinks head, he glared at the smirking Neville before looking to Pard.

"Pard, let spink help you. "

After the two elves left, with muttering from Pard, the two boys suddenly reverted to school boys as Neville started laughing and teasing Harry, to Harry starting a pillow fight. It didn't last as long as the dorm pillow fights, most likely because they didn't have multiple beds to divebomb from, but it allowed for tension to be released.

"Its getting late, Harry. I will see you at breakfast. Grams said she wont be back until lunch, but you can kiss our free time goodbye once she is back."

"Alright. Goodnight, Neville."

As Neville left, Harry decided on a hot shower to relax with and to waste some time until he had the chest once more.


End file.
